The conditions for those upon whom fasting Ramadan is obligatory.

The Shaykh : And since we are welcoming Ramadan, I would like to say a few words explaining who is obligated to perform fasting, explaining who is obligated to perform fasting. Fasting is obligatory to perform for every Muslim who is an adult, sane, capable, resident, and free from impediments. The conditions? Every Muslim who is an adult, sane, capable, resident, and free from impediments. If these six conditions are met, it is obligatory to perform fasting in Ramadan. So when we say "every Muslim," we mean: not a disbeliever. We do not tell a disbeliever: "Fast." What do we tell him? We say: "First become a Muslim, then fast." So a disbeliever is not commanded to fast, but will he be punished for it in the Hereafter? The answer is: Yes, he will be punished for it in the Hereafter. Now, if someone becomes a Muslim in the middle of Ramadan, is it obligatory for him to make up the past half? No, because he was a disbeliever. But it is obligatory for him to fast the remainder, because he is now a Muslim, provided the conditions are met. "Adult": the opposite of an adult is a minor. So it is not obligatory for a minor to fast, because the pen is lifted from him. But the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) used to make their young children fast, to the point that a child would cry and they would give him a toy to play with until sunset. For this reason, the scholars (may Allah have mercy on them) said: "It is obligatory for the guardian of every boy to command him to fast if he can bear it, so that he becomes accustomed to it, practices it, and it becomes easy for him after reaching puberty". But suppose we made a boy fast, and during the day he broke his fast, and we said: "Complete the fast," and he said: "No, I will eat and drink." Do we compel him to abstain or not? We do not compel him to abstain, because fasting is not obligatory for him. The third condition: sane. Oh Sa'id, the first condition is Islam, then the second is reaching puberty. What is the third condition? Sane. The opposite of sane is the insane person who has no mind, like one who has been deprived of his mind, may Allah protect us, and has become dazed, or one who has reached extreme old age until he can no longer distinguish, until he can no longer distinguish. This person also does not have to fast. The insane person does not have to fast, and the one who cannot distinguish due to old age does not have to fast. Does the one who cannot distinguish due to old age have to be fed on his behalf? No, because fasting is not obligatory for him, so there is no fasting and no feeding. The fourth condition: that he be capable. The opposite of capable is incapable. And the incapable is of two types: one whose incapacity is not expected to end, and one whose incapacity is expected to end. The incapable person whose incapacity is not expected to end does not have to fast, but he must feed one poor person for every day. For example: the old man who is unable to fast due to his old age, and his incapacity is not expected to end. Why? Answer, everyone? Because an old man cannot become young again. An old man cannot become young again and be able to fast, and he is currently unable to do so. We say: "Feed one poor person for every day, and your obligation is discharged." Now, what about those with illnesses that are not expected to end, such as cancer, may Allah grant us health, those with kidney disease, those with diabetes who cannot refrain from water, and those similar to them? Their incapacity is also not expected to end. We say: "Feed one poor person for every day, and you will be like those who fasted." As for the incapacity that is expected to end, which is the second type, we say to him: "Wait until your incapacity ends, then make up what you missed." Like a person with a common illness, we say: "Wait until Allah heals you, then make it up." Based on the saying of the Exalted: The fifth condition: that he be a resident. The opposite is the traveler. So it is not obligatory for the traveler to fast, meaning: it is not obligatory for him to perform it, but it remains in his debt. Based on the saying of the Exalted: . But here we ask: Is it better for the sick person to fast or to break his fast? We say: If fasting is difficult for him, then fasting is disliked for him. And if fasting harms him, such as if the doctor says: "You must take these pills every four hours, or your illness will relapse." Here, what is the ruling? Fasting is forbidden for him, and he must break his fast. And if fasting is not difficult for him and does not harm him, it is obligatory for him, because the dispensation for the sick person is only to make things easy for him. And if it is all the same for him, whether he fasts or breaks his fast, we say: "It is obligatory for you to fast." If we asked the traveler: "Is it better to break the fast or better to fast?" We say: There is a detailed ruling. If fasting is very difficult for you, then fasting is forbidden for you. And if it is slightly difficult for you, then fasting is disliked for you. And if it is not difficult for you, the scholars differed here. Some said: Fasting is better. And some said: Breaking the fast is better. And we say: Fasting is better, as long as it is all the same for you, whether you break the fast or fast. So fasting is better. Why? First: Because if a person fasts with the people, it becomes easier. He eats the pre-dawn meal with the people and breaks his fast with the people, and he finds everyone to his right and left are all fasting, so it is certainly easier for him. Second: Because if he celebrates the festival, he celebrates it with the people, because he has now completed his fasting. But if he celebrates the festival and then remembers that he has fasting to make up, the joy of the festival in his breaking of the fast is incomplete, and he does not rejoice with that full joy. Third: Because if he fasts, it is easier in the sense that if he has to make it up, or if we say: "Make it up," making it up is difficult for him. Making it up is difficult, to the point that some people delay it this week, the second week, the third week, and when the second Ramadan comes, the making up is difficult for the person. Fourth: Because he does not know, perhaps he will die and the fasting will be a debt upon him. Because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: And a woman asked him, saying: Fifth: And this is the conclusion of the matter: It is the most complete following of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), the most complete following. Because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to fast while traveling and did not break his fast except for the sake of his companions. And the evidence for that is: Abu al-Darda' said: Imagine the situation now. Most of them were in the shade of the cloak, there were no tents, they had nothing, they shielded themselves with their hands from the intense heat. He said: So the complete example to follow the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) is for a person to fast, along with the four benefits we mentioned before. But praise be to Allah, the matter is made easy. If he says: "I will break my fast and make it up," we say: There is nothing wrong with that. This is the word of Allah (Mighty and Majestic). The sixth condition: being free from impediments. And by that we mean: menstruation and post-natal bleeding. Because if a woman is menstruating, she does not fast. Fasting is forbidden for her by the consensus of the Muslims, and by the explicit text from the Master of the Messengers. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said when he said: Listen Allahu Akbar. Look at how he described them as deficient in intellect and religion. And he said: The kernel: the complete intellect. Because the kernel is inside the husks, protected by them. So the kernel: the intellect, the intellect, the intellect of the man? The decisive one, not the soft one So what about the soft man, the weak in soul, the weak in religion? Does his intellect go after women, or does it not? His intellect and his wealth go Look at the words of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). Woe to a people who now want to display veiled women in the streets unveiled. May Allah fight them and corrupt their affairs. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) is the most knowledgeable of creation about the benefits of the Muslim community. And he could not have said such words except as a warning to the Muslim community so that they do not fall into the trap of evil: Because a woman does not like her religion to be diminished. He said: The Muslims fast while they are not fasting. The Muslims pray while they are not praying. He said: Now Is that correct or not? The man is more controlled in testimony, both in bearing and in delivering. Not in bearing and witnessing, nor in delivering before the judge. The man is more memorizing of testimony than the woman. A woman comes, one man testifies and another with him, the testimony is accepted. So if Zayd said: "I am asking for one thousand riyals from 'Amr," and the judge said to him: "Bring witnesses," and he said: "I have witnesses, so-and-so and so-and-so." Is the right established against 'Amr, the defendant, or not? It is established. Another said: "I have one man and one woman." Is it established or not? It is not established, because the testimony of two women is equal to the testimony of one man. The important thing is that if a woman menstruates or has post-natal bleeding, she does not fast by consensus. But: Tell me, is she rewarded when she is patient with the decree and legislation of Allah? Yes, she is rewarded. But she is not like the reward of the doer. She is not like the reward of the doer. As evidenced by: A rich man gives charity, frees slaves, and performs Hajj. And another poor man cannot afford Hajj, charity, or freeing slaves. Which one has the greater reward? Answer. The first one. For this reason, the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) complained to the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). They said: But the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) did not say: "You are like them in reward." So the doer is not like the non-doer, even if the non-doer is not capable by Sharia or not capable physically.